Photo Essays

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division, fly over Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 30, 2013. Hagel visited several different military units along the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.
DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, center, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and wife, Deanie, speak with retired Korean War veteran U.S. Army Lt. Col. Victor Vierra before a banquet celebrating the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean alliance in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 30, 2013. Vierra commanded hundreds of soldiers at the United Nations Command Security Battalion including the time of the axe murders on Aug. 18, 1976, in which two North Koreans used axes to attack and kill two U.S. soldiers.
DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

South Korean Gen. Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, greets U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 30, 2013. Dempsey is on a four-day trip to South Korea to meet with leaders and to attend the U.S. Forces Korea change-of-command ceremony.
DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton

U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Leathers, bottom left, addresses Afghan orphans during a mission to deliver toys, books and health supplies to children at the Farah Orphanage in Farah City, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2013. Troops also participated in a key leader engagement and inspected a completed solar power project. Leathers is assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah.
U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Chad A. Dulac

U.S. sailors and Philippine marines train on riverine craft to focus on the fundamentals of small boats during an exercise off the coast of Philippine Marine Base Ternate in Ternate, Philippines, Sept. 18, 2013. The exercise demonstrates the commitment between the United States and the Philippines to promote mutual security and strengthen their partnership, while ensuring the readiness of a bilateral force to rapidly respond to regional humanitarian crises. The U.S. sailors are assigned to Assault Craft Unit, 1 Maritime Raid Force, and the Philippine marines are assigned to a reconnaissance force.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gary Granger Jr

U.S. Marines assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, left, and members of the Darwin Stray Cats, right, have a moment of silence to commemorate those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, before beginning the first official 9/11 tribute rugby game, Marrara, Northern Territory, Australia, Sept. 21, 2013. The game was a predetermined draw so both teams walked away victors.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Fiocco